Monday, November 13, 2017

CUSTOMER QUILT - SIXTEEN PATCHJoan found me through Roberts Sewing Center and brought me a Quilt of Valor,
and when she picked it up the next day, she brought me another quilt
top. So much work went into the piecing of this quilt and we're both so
happy with the way it turned out!

I used YLI Pyramids of Giza (variegated beiges) cotton thread and the digital quilting design called "Spider Lily" that can be purchased from Urban Elementz.
I had put this design on a similar quilt of mine that I was able to
show to Joan, so we knew that it would be a good fit for this type of
quilt.

Here are a few photos of the quilt in progress.

And here is the completed quilt, ready for Joan to bind.

Here is a short video of the quilt being digitally quilted with my Tin Lizzie
Ansley 26 quilting machine and Quilt Magician software. Maximize the
screen to maximize your viewing pleasure!

The
size of this quilt is roughly 73" x 79", and the cost for my services
was $100.40, which included a set up fee, digital edge-to-edge quilting,
and thread. Joan supplied her own batting. If she had purchased batting from me, the additional cost would have been $20.85. And the quilt was finished and ready to be picked
up in only three days!

I am still receiving quilts that can be completed before Christmas, and my prices can't be beat!

If
you are a quilter looking for affordable rates for your latest project,
give me a call! Don't quilt, but looking for a great gift for a special
person in your life? Or maybe
you want something special for yourself. I would love to design and
create a quilt especially for you! Contact me for details at
815.735.0997.

Thursday, November 9, 2017

THE PERILS OF LONG ARM QUILTING - A.K.A. EVERYTHING I DO, I DO IT FOR YOU!

I can't believe that I did it again!

Several months ago, I sewed through my left pointer finger with the needle of my long arm quilting machine. The needle went in and right back out before I jerked my hand away and I ended up with a painful puncture wound. I was almost relieved, because I knew it would probably happen sooner or later, and now that it did, it would never happen again.

Day before yesterday, it happened again! But this time, I jerked my hand away before the needle had time to exit my finger, and I torn the side of my finger open as the needle came out sideways.

Who ever dreamed that being a long arm quilter was a dangerous profession? And just in case you are wondering, I did not get even a drop of blood on my customer's quilt!

One of my newer customers, Becky, brought me this beautiful quilt to quilt for her. These are my colors, and I enjoyed working on it so much!

Becky purchased Warm and White cotton batting from me at the price of $9.50 per yard. The batting is 90" wide, so Becky had a little left over that she can use for table runners, placemats, or other small projects for her home or for gifts. I sell this batting by the inch, so it keeps leftovers to a minimum and saves my customers money.

I used Signature white cotton thread and my new favorite edge-to-edge digital quilting design, called "Seafoam" that can be purchased from Urban Elementz. This design has been so popular with my customers and really livens up a quilt. The curves and circles add a lot of interest and motion to a quilt and softens up the edges of a block pattern that is rather angular.

Here are a few photos of the quilt in progress.

Here are two short videos of the quilt being digitally quilted with my Tin Lizzie
Ansley 26 quilting machine and Quilt Magician software. Maximize the
screen to maximize your viewing pleasure!

The size of this quilt is roughly 56" x 76", and the cost for my services was $89.60, which included a set up fee, digital edge-to-edge quilting, thread, and batting. And the quilt was finished and ready to be picked up in only three days!

I am still receiving quilts that can be completed before Christmas, and my prices can't be beat!

If
you are a quilter looking for affordable rates for your latest project,
give me a call! Don't quilt, but looking for a great gift for a special
person in your life? Or maybe
you want something special for yourself. I would love to design and
create a quilt especially for you! Contact me for details at
815.735.0997.

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

CUSTOMER QUILT - JELLY ROLL RACE 1600Lori Martos brought me this really fun and modern quilt the other day. It is made with a collection of 2.5" strips of coordinating fabrics commonly known as a "jelly roll".

Here are two short videos of the quilt being digitally quilted with my Tin Lizzie
Ansley 26 quilting machine and Quilt Magician software. Maximize the
screen to maximize your viewing pleasure!

The
size of this quilt is roughly 63" x 71", and the cost for my services
was $96.41, which included a set up fee, digital edge-to-edge quilting, thread and Warm & White batting. And the
quilt was finished and ready to be picked
up in only a few days!

If
you are a quilter looking for affordable rates for your latest project,
give me a call! Don't quilt, but looking for a great gift for a special
person in your life? Or maybe
you want something special for yourself. I would love to design and
create a quilt especially for you! Contact me for details at
815.735.0997.

Monday, November 6, 2017

Just a couple of pics of this awesome quilt that I just finished for a new customer, Lynn.

Lynn is pretty new to quilting, and this is her first large quilt. Till now, she has made table runners and other small household items. I was curious where she got all the scraps, if she had not been quilting that long. She says that friends contributed scraps, and she bought about half the fabric from Quilt Fabric. It was fun to see all the different fabrics as I was quilting. In addition to all the different colors, there were some novelty fabrics like images from the old comic strip "Blondie" and even some Harry Potter!

This quilt is larger than a queen and smaller than a king.

I used YLI Primary Variegated cotton thread, with the digital quilting pattern called "Outside In", which is available in digital form and paper pantographs from Urban Elementz. The batting is Warm and White cotton.

In the photos below, the lighting was not the best, and the vibrant colors of the thread look a little muted. I did not realize the photos had that problem until the quilt had been picked up. You can use your imagination! The colors of the thread on the charcoal grey backing are brilliant!

The cost to have this quilt quilted was $158.32, not including the batting, which Lynn provided. My prices are competitive, and Lynn tells me she saved around $30 by bringing her quilt to me. And she got it back in two days!

If
you are a quilter looking for affordable rates for your latest project,
give me a call! Don't quilt, but looking for a great gift for a special
person in your life? Or maybe
you want something special for yourself. I would love to design and
create a quilt especially for you! Contact me for details at
815.735.0997.

Friday, November 3, 2017

Yesterday, I had the privilege of working on a Quilt of Valor for Joan, a new customer. The mission of the Quilts of Valor Foundation is to cover service
members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts
of Valor. If you have never heard of QOV, you can find out more about the organization here.

After an unforeseen circumstance kept Joan's regular long arm quilter from completing her quilt by her deadline, she contacted Roberts Sewing Center for the names of other quilters in the area, and found me.

Joan brought me the quilt top, backing, and batting on Wednesday evening, and I finished quilting it the next afternoon, in time for her to bind it and present it to the veteran to take with him on an Honor Flight this Saturday. You can read about Honor Flights here, and see how they honor our veterans.

Here are a few photos of Joan's quilt, plus some video showing the actual quilting process. I used the digital quilting pattern called "Nouveau Feathers", purchased from Urban Elementz, which, when used with patriotic quilts, gives the feeling of blowing wind. The thread I used was YLI White cotton.

In the first video, you can see the screen of the Android tablet that contains the Quilt Magician software that runs the quilting robot.

I was so happy that I was able to assist Joan in honoring her veteran. She was happy, too, and brought me another quilt top when she picked up the QOV. Thanks, Joan!

Thursday, November 2, 2017

I quilt other people's quilt tops. I create quilts from start to finish for non-quilter customers (and sometimes for a quilter that needs a quilt faster than she can make it herself), but I recently got to do something for a customer that I had not done before.

I was contacted by an elderly gentleman who brought me some Sunbonnet Sue quilt blocks that his late wife had made in the 1980s, and he wanted me to make a quilt out of them for a new great grandchild that was due to be born in the next few days. The blocks were all the same, but one of the blocks was very much more detailed, down to ribbon and button embellishments, and did not match the others. I made a quilt out of the plainer ones for him, but suggested that he have the more detailed one matted and framed to give as a gift to a child, grandchild or great grandchild.

The block, even though it was just a single block, had been quilted with diagonal lines, but was not bound. I took it to Chris in the framing department at JoAnn Fabric and Craft Store, and we picked out mats, frame, and museum glass. Twelve days later, I picked up the finished product, and was so impressed! And so was my customer.

I had a 50% off coupon, and the total cost for the framing was $153. This beautiful framed quilt block will last forever and be handed down through the generations.

Do you have a block that has been handed down to you, and it is just sitting in a box somewhere? If you bring it to me, I can quilt it and make it frame-ready for you to take in for framing. If you prefer, I can take it in for you and work with Chris to design the perfect work of art!

Another option is to take an old, handed-down quilt that it worn out and unable to be used, and use a part of it as a framed treasure.

Please call me at 815.735.0997 if you would like me to help you create a family heirloom that will stand the test of time!

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ABOUT ME

I have been quilting since the early 1990s and have taught many beginner quilting classes in my home and various quilt shops in the area. In 2001, I started my own professional long arm quilting business and quilted more than 120 quilts for my customers over the next two years. One quilt that I did the custom quilting on toured the country with The Alliance for American Quilts and was raffled off, raising $10,000 for that organization. The quilt was featured on the television show Simply Quilts on HGTV and in Quilter's Newsletter Magazine. Another of my quilts, which I designed myself, won a ribbon at the Heritage Quilters Guild Quilt Show in Lockport, Illinois, in 2003.